The proposed Needle and Syringe Program at the Andrew Maconochie Centre in the ACT provides a window through which to view attitudes towards prisoners’ health and their right to an equivalent health care system. The fierce objection to its introduction by prison officers highlights Corrections’ approach to prisoners’ health - as one of many competing interests. As progress to introduce an NSP, a tool proven to be highly beneficial to health, is slowed/potentially blocked by prison officers, it raises the question – does prisoner health come second?
Australian law and international treaty obligations recognize that a person’s capacity to access health services must not be compromised by reason of imprisonment and that all people have a basic right to health. The United nation’s ‘Principle of Equivalence’ ascertains that prison health services must be of the same quality and meet the same standards as those of the greater community.
There is little doubt that prisoners are amongst the unhealthiest people in Australia. The 2010 ‘Health of Australia’s Prisoners’ revealed that:
- Almost 1 in 3 prison entrants had been told they have a mental health condition and 1 in 5 prisoners in custody was taking medication for a mental health condition.
- 4 in 5 prison entrants reported being a current smother, more than half reported drinking at risk levels, and 2 in 3 had used illicit drugs in the previous 12 months
- more than 1 in 3 prison entrants had not completed Yr 10 at school
- 1 in 4 prison entrants has a chronic condition such as asthma, cardiovascular disease or diabetes
- 1 in 3 tested positive to the Hepatitis C antibody
